


The Soulmate Project

by DalishGreyWarden



Category: Dragon Age, Original Work, Skyrim, Sons of Anarchy, Supernatural, The Avengers, The Hobbit - All Media Types, X-Men - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Angst, Crossover Pairings, F/M, Fluff, Romance, Some plot what plot, Soulmate-Identifying Marks, Soulmate-Identifying Timers, crossovers
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-08-18
Updated: 2015-08-19
Packaged: 2018-04-15 11:57:35
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 6,972
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4605855
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DalishGreyWarden/pseuds/DalishGreyWarden
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Basically just a collection of one shots and short stories I'm working on with the Soulmate idea. Lots of pairings and some characters will crossover into different stories/movies and will be paired with different characters.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

One minute, forty seconds.

 

I was nervous, tugging at my earlobe as I walked slowly in the direction of my bakery, keeping my eye out for someone who might be looking for me, too.

 

One minute, six seconds.

 

I looked around, hoping to see whoever it was supposed to be, my legs shaking and my stomach flip flopping. Somewhere nearby, someone was has the exact same countdown on their wrist.

 

50 seconds.

 

Everyone I knew said I should be excited that I was going to meet the one person I was going to spend the rest of my life with, but I was more nervous than anything else. What if whoever it was didn’t like me? Or what if I didn’t like them?

 

30 seconds.

 

I was in front of my bakery now, but something told me to stop and wait, so I stood there, keys gripped tightly in my trembling hand as I waited, chewing my lip nervously.

 

20 seconds.

 

My heart speeds up as a really cute military looking guy came into view, a nervous look on his face as he glanced down at his watch and my heart nearly went into overdrive.

 

19\. Faster.

 

18\. Quicker.

 

17\. He gets closer and closer.

 

16\. My heart was racing even faster now. This was it, this was the moment our lives would be changing for better or worse. I started walking, wanting to meet in the middle, my lips dry and sweat beading up on my neck as I picked up the pace.

 

10 seconds.

 

My heart has given up entirely at this point. I kept walking, forcing my legs to work and I swallowed again as I focused on the person in front of me.

 

5\. Sweat drips down my neck.

 

4\. My throat is dry and my hands are clammy.

 

3\. Just a few more seconds.

 

2\. I halt, my legs too shaky to continue on.

 

1\. Deep breath.

 

0000 d 00 h 00 m 00 s

He stopped right in front of me, green eyes with swirls of blue and flecks of gold lighting up at the sight of me standing front of him and he gave a crooked, nervous smile as he ran a hand over dark brown hair he kept cut close to his scalp.

 

“Hey, you must be my Soulmate, huh? I’m Kell Bradenton.”

 

“H-hi Kell, I’m Aisling O’Malley.”

 

Two small clanks caught our attention as our tabs deactivated and fell to the ground as we walked back to the bakery, neither of us talking, but the smiles on our faces said it all.


	2. This New Addiction Is All That I Know Pt.1

Smoke filled the dance hall thanks to the various cigar and cigarette smokers enjoying the music and the alcohol as they sat around tables and booths, chatting up girls and going out to the dance floor. It was my night off and I had met up with a couple of my girlfriends I’d made in the time I’d lived here in New Orleans at this little dance hall I liked to hang out every so often. It was full of mutants and elves, dwarves ran the place with the Tal-Vashoth and it was pretty comfortable place for anyone who wasn’t strictly human to come hang out safely. I liked coming here because I usually ran into my friends Remy Lebeau and Deadpool here and since I didn’t see them as often anymore, it was nice getting to spend time with them while they _were_ here.

 

“Alright, who’s up for another round of shots?” Evangeline Hawke, one of Professor X’s old students and a great friend of mine, asked with a toothy grin, her twin fangs glittering in the low light.

 

“Me! Ooh, I could go for another drink.” Lilly Autumnward added, already a bit tipsy from the other two drinks she’d had.

 

“You’re such a lightweight, Lilly. Learn to tolerate your alcohol better cuz I am so not dealing with sloppy drunken roommate bullshit.” Evangeline laughed before turning to look at me, that sly grin sliding onto her face, signaling that she was either up to something or a devious thought had just entered her brain.

 

“What is it?”

 

“You won’t believe who just walked through the doors.” She was sniggering and nudged Lilly in the ribs, nodding her head towards the doors where Tony fucking Stark was standing.

 

“Son of a bitch.” I growled, yanking my hood up to cover my face up so he wouldn’t spot me. Tony was the one member of the Avengers I _actively_ tried to avoid thanks to the stupid soul mark on my wrist. It was blocky writing, just like Starks writing, and it had appeared on my pale skin when I hit thirteen. Every day of my life until I met Tony, I would trace the sentence over and over again, dreaming of meeting my soulmate and spending my life with whoever it was. And then I met him. It was the worst moment of my life. I was bloodied up and cranky and here come Stark, traipsing up and he says to me “You look like a goddess dressed like that”. I’d always thought it was a beautiful thing to hear, then upon hearing those words, my stomach twisted and turned and I felt like I was going to vomit. Those words were bittersweet after meeting Tony in person. I’d heard so much about him, a lot of it good and more of it bad; I didn’t _want_ a ladies man. I wanted a man who would actually give a shit and make our relationship a partnership. I wanted my soulmate to be my best friend, someone I could stay up late with and watch silly movies or play video games with until the sun rose. But no, I got Tony mother fucking Stark.

 

“Please, Evangeline, don’t go anywhere. I don’t want to see Tony. I don’t want to be anywhere near him.” I pleaded, gripping Evangeline’s arm tightly, my nails digging into her skin rougher than I intended, but I was desperate to keep her from bringing him over.

 

“Alright, alright, I won’t bring him over, I promise. Come on, let’s go dance girls. The floor is crowded and I doubt Tony will spot us in the crowd.” Evangeline got serious quickly, understanding the soulmate dilemma. She and Lilly were lucky; Evangeline had Gambit as her soulmate and they were fantastic together. Lilly had Daken, Wolverines son and while they clashed in personality, they made up for it in how they interacted. He was protective of her and she brought out a side to him that he didn’t realize he had and he brought out her wild side and she spoke her mind more when she was with him. It was amazing seeing them interact with one another and I ached for what they had.

 

“I love this song!” Lilly squealed when they started playing All American Dream by Scotch and Brandy, grabbing our hands tightly and dragged us out onto the floor. I turned my head away as we went past Tony. I could see the suspicion flash across his face as he studied us as we rushed out to the floor. We were two stepping with a couple of guys we didn’t know but it was a lot of fun and I almost forgot Stark was here until I felt a heated gaze drilling holes into my back.

 

“Stark is practically staring holes in your back, Ash. You might want to change your appearance a bit just in case.” Lilly murmured softly and I agreed with her, focusing on what I wanted to change. My eyes went from their natural ocean blue to a deep, emerald green while my waist length blonde hair went up to my shoulders and became a blue/black color with red ends and bangs that swept across the right side of my face, covering my right eye.

 

“Think this is enough of a change Stark won’t recognize me?” I asked Lilly as we headed off the dance floor. She gave me a thumbs up before looping her arm through mine and leading me to our table while Evangeline went to order us more drinks. I could still feel Tony staring at me, so I looked up and met his gaze, hoping he’d think that I wasn’t me and leave. I could see the resigned look on his face as he turned away and walked out of the club, leaving me feeling less tense and able to breathe.

 

“You’ll have to talk to him at some point you know.” Evangeline set our drinks down, sliding them over to us and I took a large gulp of my long island ice tea at her words. She was right and I knew she was right, I just didn’t particularly _want_ to talk to him.

 

“You can’t avoid him forever, you know. The longer you stay away, the more restless and reckless you’ll become. Look, spring break is coming up and I know you wanted to go up to New York to look into that culinary school so why don’t we all go up there and we can check out the school and you can talk to Tony.” Evangeline suggested kindly, resting her hand on my shoulder.

 

“Why did the biggest, most egotistical, ladies’ man in the Avengers have to be _my_ soulmate? Why couldn’t I have a normal elven soulmate?” I groaned, dropping my head to the table. Evangeline just laughed as she rubbed my back and pushed my drink back towards me.

 

 

~*~*~

 

Classes were over for now and I was feeling super nervous about our trip up to New York. I’d called Tony and after speaking to his assistant Ms. Potts, I’d gotten a meeting arranged after I went to look at the culinary school. My stomach was flip flopping as I walked out to my car so I could head home and make sure things were packed and ready to go. I had to pick Evangeline and Lilly up in two hours, so I still had some time to kill before going to get them which thankfully gave me enough time to get my head straight and my things ready to go. I was in a daze the whole way home, driving on autopilot the entire way, my thoughts on Tony and our official meeting we’d be having.

 

_I can’t believe I’m going to officially meet my soulmate. This is just too bizarre._


	3. This New Addiction Is All That I Know Pt.2

“Hey, don’t forget you’re meeting Tony in an hour. We need to get you presentable!” Evangeline grinned as she looped her arm through mine. Our trip up had been rather uneventful, just a bit of turbulence here and there, but it was alright aside from that uncomfortable bit. We had gone to the hotel when we got in and went right to sleep since today was a big day for me. We had gone and toured the school and while it was nice and seemed like an excellent place to study, I wasn’t sure I really wanted to uproot myself again and move away from my friends.

 

“Are you even listening to me?”

 

I looked up, eyes wide, and stared at Evangeline in total embarrassment. I’d been so caught up in my own thoughts, I hadn’t realized Evangeline was talking to me.

 

“I’m sorry Angie, I was just –“

 

“I know, I know sweet pea, you’re nervous and you’ve got that look that just screams you’re ready to bolt any chance you get.” Her dark red lips curved up into a gentle smile and she pulled me into a tight hug, squeezing gently before she let go.

 

“Yeah, that’s about right. Creators, what if I actually end up _liking_ him? Ugh then I’ll _have_ to move here.” I moaned, exaggerating a little for drama’s sake but still, it couldn’t hurt to think a little ways ahead, though right?

 

“Oh shush, you don’t know that! Maybe he’ll be alright with a long distance relationship and you can stay in New Orleans with us.” Lilly piped up cheerfully, her wide grin brightening up the cloudy day.

 

“I doubt it, but we’ll see. Come on; let’s head back to the hotel so I can get ready.” I muttered darkly, walking a little less happily with life right now. I had no idea what to wear or anything. Should I dress normally? Or maybe a little more formal? What about something in between? Ugh it seemed almost impossible to decide. By the time I really got back into my own head again and not zoned out, I _still_ had no idea as to what I should wear.

 

“So, what are you gonna wear to meet him?” Lilly asked as we got on the elevator. I shrugged in response, letting out a puff of air to blow my bangs out of my face.

 

“Something casual I think. I don’t want to go in there already feeling uncomfortable and end up in clothes that are uncomfortable as well. It’ll just make me cranky and unpleasant.”

 

“Don’t you mean _more_ cranky and unpleasant? You’re already both of those things.” Evangeline teased, grinning widely at me. I shoved her, laughing loudly and pulled them off of the elevator and leading them down to my room. I’d gotten a separate room just in case anything _did_ happen and at the girls urging too just in case, which I guess was nice because Evangeline and Lilly could be awful roommates sometimes.

 

“Alright! We’ve got limited time to do this thanks to the walk back here, so pick something out, do your hair and makeup and get going!” Evangeline continued on and shoved me almost into the closet. Without thinking about it, I grabbed a crop top tank top and some bootcut jeans along with my favorite leather jacket and went into the bathroom to change.

 

“Oh come on, are you really wearing that?” Lilly groaned when I walked out.

 

“I like this shirt!”

 

“It says “Sorry, I have plans with Netflix”. Seriously? You’re going to really wear that when you meet your soulmate officially?” The look of disapproval on Lilly and Evangeline’s faces was clear as day but I didn’t have time to argue. I had to get out to meet Ms. Potts so I could hitch a ride to Stark Tower.

 

“We’ll argue later. Right now, I have to get back downstairs to meet Ms. Potts. I’ll text you guys when I’m on my way back.” I said as I gathered up my wallet and room key, waved and dashed out of the room, choosing to take the stairs instead of the elevator just to save time. When my foot met the last step, a blonde woman dressed in a nice suit came walking up to me, smiling kindly as she reached her hand out to shake mine.

 

“Hi you must be Ashanna Lavellan. I’m Pepper Potts, Tony’s assistant.” She spoke warmly and led me out to the car we were taking to the Stark Tower. I didn’t say much, but nodded politely and made a little conversation as we drove along, the sick feeling in my gut only getting worse the closer we got.

 

“Ashanna, are alright? You look like you’re going to throw up.” Pepper sounded concerned and I waved it off.

 

“No, well, okay, yeah, I definitely feel like throwing up, but I’ll live. I just have to suck it up and talk to Stark.” I muttered and accepted the water bottle she offered me. The cool liquid felt great on my parched throat and I drained the bottle in four large gulps.

 

“Don’t worry. Tony is really excited that you’re here. He won’t openly admit to it, but I could see it on his face and by how he kept going on to JARVIS about getting things ready. He can be an ass sometimes, but I wouldn’t worry about dealing with that today.” Pepper spoke warmly, trying to sound reassuring but really, it wasn’t helping. She pulled into a large, extravagant garage, parking and turning the car off before sliding out of it. I followed after, slowly of course, dragging my feet a little bit because I _really_ didn’t want to be here, but the closer we got to Tony’s office, the lighter my heart felt much to my dismay.

 

“Tony? Ashanna’s here.” Pepper smiled as she gently pushed me forward. Tony looked almost relieved to see me and he motioned for me to come in and sit down. I took a seat, perching on the edge of the chair, making sure to choose the one closest to the door in case I needed to walk out.

 

“It’s great to finally meet you outside of the battlefield.” His eyes were locked on mine and he gave me a charming smile.

 

“Yeah, I guess. Listen, the only reason I’m here is because my friends talked me into it.” I replied coolly, getting to my feet and walking past him to look out the huge windows. The view from up here was amazing, just absolutely breathtaking. I could see all the buildings around here and a dark grey sky tinged with pinks and reds with some blue and orange swirled into the mix while the rumble of thunder, low in the distance, made the glass tremble as purple flashes lit the horizon up. I could see Tony approach me in the glass and he stopped right behind me, inhaling deeply.

 

“Wow. You smell… well, amazing. Sweet and sugary, like summertime… Cotton candy and lemonade are the first things that come to mind. Dark chocolate maybe?” He murmured as he lifted a strand of my hair, sniffing deeply again.

 

“Is that your shampoo?” He continued after dropping my hair gently back into place.

 

“That's more of an apple, floral and amber scent. Nothing sweet.” I replied back, swallowing hard as I turned around, acutely aware of just how close we were to each other. Tony put his hands on either side of my head, palms resting on the glass and he leaned in, nose next to my neck as he inhaled some more. I forced myself to breathe normally, but my heart was racing in my chest and goosebumps broke out all over my skin.

 

“Your bodywash?”

 

“Body scrub actually and that’s definitely mint and rosemary.” I whispered as he leaned in and feathered his lips over mine. I could feel the shock course through my body as our lips met in a short lived kiss and I pushed away from him quickly, ducking under his arm as I moved back to the chair, light headed and needing a moment. I was reeling from this moment; there was _definitely_ an attraction alright and it was really fucking me up right now.

 

“I’m going to guess by your reaction, you felt exactly what I felt.” Tony said, his arms crossed over his chest as he studied me.

 

“Depends. What did you feel?” I tried to compose myself as best as possible, but that was really hard to do when my body was practically on fire.

 

“Not to use the whole fireworks cliché, but that was exactly what I felt. There were sparks pretty much coming off of us back there.”

 

“Alright Tony, then it wasn’t just me. Fine. Okay. I can accept that we’re soulmates, but I want to clear something up: I don’t do open relationships and I want to know that the person I’m with would be fine just hanging out and doing low key activities from time like watching dumb movies like Scarecrow Slayer or staying up all night playing video games. Or hell, maybe even just cooking together. I hate being dragged out to fancy and high maintenance things and I don’t like being led on either.” I spoke quickly so I couldn’t change my mind about this. The surprise on Tony’s face made me smile a little bit and he grinned as he walked right up to me, his hands cupping the sides of my face and he pressed another electric kiss to my lips and in the distance, I heard thunder rumbling in the distance and lightning lit up the sky behind us.


	4. Chapter 4

Clint and Blue. Blue and Clint. You couldn’t say one of our names without the other one following directly after. But I suppose that’s how it works when you’re soulmates after all. I’d known Clint Barton my whole life; we grew up together and when we hit thirteen, it was no shock that the necklaces we’d be given as children fit perfectly together. We’d always been thick as thieves so it only made sense we ended up being soulmates as well as best friends. And while he did work for SHIELD, I was out hunting down nasties that went bump in the night, eager for human flesh, blood or whatever else demons and monsters craved. We led dangerous jobs and we checked in as often as we could, but there were still risks to both of our jobs. Death was a pretty big one along with possession, so we did what we could to stay as risk free as possible because let’s be honest, who wants a phone call saying their soulmate has either died or been possessed by a demon?

 

“Hey babe, I’m on the trail of a rather particularly nasty vampire. I… may not be home tonight. I love you very much, Clint.”

 

I’d had to leave a voicemail for Clint before I took off out of the bar after a vampire that was bringing a girl home with her, keeping at a distance so they wouldn’t notice me but staying just close enough so I could keep a close eye on them so I wouldn’t lose track of them. This vampire has been around for centuries and she was pretty damn powerful, but if I didn’t take care of her, she’d keep luring new girls and guys into her lair, either draining them dry or turning them into monsters like her. The other hunters working this case had been killed off, leaving me the only hunter in town to deal with it.

 

 _I wish I had some backup._ I thought as I waited for them to enter the abandoned apartment complex where this vamp had made her home. While waiting, I shut my phone off so they wouldn’t catch me tailing them and I slipped inside after them, crouching down and trailing after the vamp and her prey. They kept going up all the way to the top floor, stopping by the first door around the corner and entered into the room, the door slowly closing behind them. I slid a stake across the floor, grinning when it slid into place and kept the door cracked so I could slip in and do my job without too much more of a problem. I armed myself with a bottle of holy water and a stake before pushing the door open and slipping into the room, scooping my other stake up and carefully made my way through the dark room, holding my breath from the stench of rotten corpses and old blood that really made my nose burn and bile climb up my throat.

 

 _Fuckin’ nasty. I really hope that girl has caught on to the danger._ I made a face as I peered around the corner and saw the vamp about to bite into her victim’s neck.

 

“Hold it, fangs! Drop the girl.” I warned, my stake at the ready and the water bottle full of holy water uncapped and ready to go. The vampire laughed as she dropped the girl to the dirty floor and stalked towards me, her fangs bared in a creepy smile.

 

“Oh look, another hunter that thinks they can kill me. Mm you’re cute sweetie. I might just keep you around to be a mindless slave instead of killing you.” She purred, getting closer and closer. I squeezed the water bottle, laughing when the water sprayed full force into her face, leaving her skin smoking from between her hands as she covered herself, howling in pain.

 

“Go on! Get outta here!” I shoved her victim out the door and followed after, backing out of the room and slammed the door shut. Moving fast, I began to dump kerosene out onto the floor, soaking the door with the stuff and I hauled ass out of there, dumping kerosene behind me, leaving a nice trail of it behind me. My feet hit the bottom stairs of the second floor when I heard the splintering of a door upstairs.

 

 _Looks like fangs finally broke out. Better move quick._ I thought and pushed on, racing through the hallways, still pouring kerosene behind me, nearly choking on the fumes, my eyes watering and burning from the strong smell but it was either blow this shit sky high or die trying. I could only hope I’d have plenty of time to make this work since I’d aimed the holy water in her eyes to give me a chance to do this. Her footsteps were drawing closer thanks to her bullshit vamp speed, so I threw myself out the closest window, guarding my face from the glass shards, yanked my lighter out of my pocket and lit it, tossing it into the trail of kerosene and hauled ass out of there, running hard, grabbed the girl that was just exiting the building by the waist and pulled her out of there as the building went up in flames. A piercing shriek caught my ears and I glanced back to see the vamp go up in flames and ash in the window.

 

“Th-thank you so much! You saved my life.”

 

“Don’t worry about it. But seriously, be more careful with who you go home with, alright?” I replied tersely and walked the girl home, keeping an eye out for any more trouble.

 

“Shit! My phone!” I suddenly swore and pulled my phone out of my bag and turned it on, wincing when I saw I had fifteen missed calls, voice mails and texts from Clint.

 

“I’m alive! I swear! I shut my phone off –“ I winced, holding my phone away from my ear as Clint yelled at me.

 

“Alright, alright, I’m sorry already. I’m on my way home, love. Yeah, I’ll see you soon. Okay, bye.” I shook my head, a slight grin on my face as I walked next to the girl I’d helped.

 

“I guess you worried your soulmate, huh?” She ventured shyly and I nodded, laughing loudly.

 

“Yup, I sure did. He’s pretty steamed that I shut my phone off while I was tracking the vamp. I just couldn’t risk it going off, I’ve been tailing her for months now trying to being her down. She killed other hunters that were on her tail too, so it was up to me to end it.”

 

“It’s so sweet that you have each other. How did you guys meet?”

 

“We grew up together, actually. It was just destined to be from the start I guess. And then when we put our necklaces together just for laughs and found they fit perfectly, clicking together just like we clicked. So we went with it, made life a lot easier honestly since we knew everything about one another anyway. Now he’s an Avenger and I’m a hunter. It works nicely really most days.” I had a soft smile on my face when I talked about Clint.

 

“Wow! You’re soulmates with an Avenger? Who?” Awe filled her voice as we turned up another road and stopped in front of a well-lit building.

 

“Hawkeye is my soulmate. He’s a nut but I love him and I _really_ can’t wait to go home to him. Stay safe, alright? And always keep some holy water on you at all times just in case as well as a wooden stake. You never know in this day and age, so keep your guard up and keep an eye out.” I said before waving goodbye and headed back to the apartment I shared with Clint, a smile on my face as I texted him I was heading home. It would be great to get home and cook up a quick dinner before crashing for the night. I was beat and needed some hot food, my honey and some sleep.

 

“Blue!”

 

“Clint? What are you doing here?” I grinned when my soulmate and my car came cruising into sight.

 

“Picking you up. Get in!”

 

I slid into the car and planted a quick kiss on his rough cheek, grumbling about his stubble he had going on, but I was pleased to see him.

 

“What was that?”

 

I signed my mutterings to him and he swatted me gently, a playful look on his face as he continued driving along back to the apartment.

 

“I love you.” I laced my fingers through his, squeezing his hand tightly before letting go.

 

“I love you too. Also? You seriously stink – Ow! Hey!” He laughed when I smacked him on the arm, laughing too.

 

“Yeah, yeah, I know alright? I’ll shower when we get home.”


	5. The Teacher and the Hero

“Okay everyone! It’s time to clean up the play areas and get ready to go outside!”

 

I was watching over my kindergartners as they rushed about, smiling softly as they eagerly got their areas cleaned up and grabbed toys they had brought from home to bring outside with them.

 

“Where’s Aimee? Ah, there you are sweetie! You’re the line leader today, remember? You get to lead everyone outside to the playground.” I waited patiently as the little girl hurried to the front of the line, a big grin on her face as she took her place before pushing the door open and waiting for them to file out so I could shut and lock the door behind us. I took a seat at the picnic table with a couple of the other teachers, watching my kids run around, laughing and screaming, getting all of their energy out with the other kindergarten classes that were running around, too.

 

“Hey Clover, how are you?” Lydia Walters asked, smiling happily at me.

 

“I’m good, Lydia, how are you? How was the honeymoon?” I smiled back at the younger woman. Her green eyes glittered happily as she gave a dreamy sigh before telling us all about her dream honeymoon with her soulmate.

 

“So, have you found your soulmate yet, Clover?” Marissa Parks asked curiously before shouting at two of her boys to stop fighting or they’d sit on the bench for ten minutes.

 

“Not yet, no. He’ll come around when he comes around, though. I’m not worried about it.” I replied coolly, not really wanting to discuss my nonexistent relationship right now. My fingers brushed the golden half-moon mark that circled my left eye, the slightly raised mark a constant reminder that I was still soulmate-less. It was… well, both beautiful and frustrating and in a way, I wish I didn’t have it anymore.

 

“Hey! Hey, girls, watch out!” I jumped to my feet when debris suddenly came flying at a small group of my girls and ran out there, throwing myself over them, arms wrapping tightly around them and keeping them safe as I braced myself for impact. I opened one eye cautiously and saw Captain America and Iron Man had stepped in, saving my kids and I was supremely grateful for the save. As Iron Man flew off, Cap turned around, his beautiful baby blue eyes grow wide at the sight of me, struggling to find his words for a moment.

 

“Thank you so much for saving my kids. I’d be devastated if anything happened to them.” I said as I shooed them over to picnic table with the other teachers and students.

 

“Not a problem, ma’am. Are you alright?” He asked kindly and I nodded a little, giving him a cautious smile and wave as I jogged back over to the students to check on them.

 

“Ms. Trevelyan? Are you okay?” Mikey asked, tugging on my jeans pocket. I knelt down, my hands resting on his shoulders and I nodded, smiling kindly at him.

 

“I’m fine Mikey, thank you for asking. How about you guys? Are you all okay?”

 

A chorus of yes ma’am’s brought some relief to me and I did a quick headcount to make sure everyone was here. Once we got a firm headcount, we quickly herded the kids back to the classrooms and I called down to the office to speak with the principal.

 

“Hey, do we need to send the kids home? Uh huh. Alright, sure of course. Thank you.”

 

“Hey guys, school’s out early today! I’ll help you get your stuff together and we’re going to wait here for your parents, okay?” I kept my voice bright and happy so I wouldn’t scare the kids but I was pretty nervous. The Avengers being nearby was something to be cautious of, especially if what Principal Williams told me was true. Once all of the kids were gone, I went to find Marissa and Lydia to see what we needed to do.

 

~*~*~

 

“Hey girl, it’s safe now. Are you heading home yet?” Marissa poked her head into my classroom. I shook my head and set my pencil down while reaching for a stack of papers I needed to sort through to get them ready for Parents Night on Friday.

 

“No, not yet, Rissa, I still have a lot of stuff to do around here before I head home. I’ll see you tomorrow, though.”

 

She smiled and waved goodbye, holding the door for someone I couldn’t see, but it had to be someone interesting from the look on her face. When Captain America himself came walking through my door, though, I could see why she was surprised because I was certainly taken off guard.

 

“Oh, well, uh, hi there.” I stammered, getting to my feet quickly and bashed my knee into my desk in the process, wincing at the sharp pain that shot up and down my entire leg before the throbbing, burning pain set in to my kneecap.

 

“God bless America!” I cursed and sat down again, hissing slightly at the pain.

 

“Hey, whoa, you alright?”

 

My face went red with embarrassment when he walked over and knelt down to inspect my knee, touching the area gently and pushing on it to make sure I hadn’t done too much damage.

 

“I-I’m fine, just really clumsy it seems. Um… Thank you. For earlier. I-I know I already thanked you before, but I thought I should say it again.” I stuttered, my words quickly fading when he pulled his mask back, revealing a really good looking guy not too terribly much older than I was.

 

“It’s my job. I’m Steve Rogers.” He held his hand out for me to shake when I got to my feet again, much more carefully this time.

 

“Clover Trevelyan. It’s nice to meet you Steve.” I murmured, marveling over how warm his hand was. A golden half-moon glittered on the back of his tan skin and my breath caught in my throat when I realized why he was here.

 

“Oh.”

 

“I… had to come speak to you after we got the mess with Thor’s brother Loki taken care of.” Steve’s face was pink and he rubbed the back of his neck nervously, clearing his throat as he thought of what to say next. A smile lit my face up and I stood up on tiptoes, planting a soft kiss to his cheek and went back over to my desk, moving things around and organizing papers.

 

“Well, it would seem we’re soulmates. Go figure really. Um… I still have some stuff to finish up here, but would you like to grab a coffee when I’m done? We could get to know each other if you’d like.” I offered shyly, tucking my black hair behind my ears.

 

“Yeah, I’d love to. Do you want any help around here?” Steve relaxed and gave me a shy grin.

 

“Oh, uh, s-sure if you’d like to hang up some of the kids projects from the paper clip hooks I have hanging from the ceiling, that would be great.” I handed him a stack of various projects we had done and he got to work hanging them up. We chatted the whole time, getting to know each other and I found myself falling hard for him. He was sweet, respectful, funny as all get out and damn good looking to boot.

 

“Alright, I think we’re good here. Thanks so much for giving me a hand, Steve. I really appreciate it.”

 

We headed out to the parking lot where my car was sitting all by its lonesome in the empty parking lot and I glanced over at Steve, grinning at him a bit.

 

“So, is there somewhere I should take you to get some less conspicuous clothes? Or are we doing coffee with you dressed in your uniform?” I teased gently and he laughed in amusement as he covered his face again.

 

“We can hit Stark Tower. I’ve got some spare clothes there thanks to Tony. Need directions there?”

 

“Nope, I know how to get to there. I pass it every day on my way here.” I shrugged and unlocked the car doors, sliding into the car and starting it up with a grin as Slipknot began blasting on my speakers, which I fumbled to turn down before I busted our eardrums.

 

“You are quite the mystery, Clover.” Steve glanced over at me with a raised eyebrow, a faint smile on his face.

 

“Honey, I’m a twenty-two year old kindergarten teacher with a soft spot for metal. There’s nothing mysterious there.” I snorted while changing songs and headed off to the Tower so Steve could get more clothes.

 

~*~*~

 

“Hey Steve, who’s your very pretty friend?” Tony Stark, the famed Iron Man, smirked when we came walking into the tower and I blushed a bit at the attention.

 

“This is Clover Trevelyan. My soulmate.” Steve gave Tony a pointed look as he put emphasis on the soulmate bit of his sentence. Tony and the others that were standing around straightened up quickly, surprise on their faces as they looked at each other.

 

“Oh. Shit. Sorry, Rogers.”

 

Steve looked down at me and squeezed my arm really quickly before heading to his room to get clothes, leaving me here with his friends.

 

“So, Clover, what do you do for a living?” Tony asked, hopping up onto the counter and motioned for me to take a seat anywhere.

 

“I’m a kindergarten teacher. I guess you didn’t notice me when you caught that debris that was bent on crushing my kids and I.”

 

“Whoa, wait that was you?”

 

“Yeah. Yeah it was.”

 

“Figures Mr. Apple Pie would end up with a kindergarten teacher.” Tony snorted just as Steve walked out, dressed in a nice shirt, leather jacket and a nice pair of jeans.

 

“Hey Stark, leave her alone.” Steve warned him before offering me his arm and walking out to the car with me.

 

“Sorry about Tony. He’s kind of abrasive and a jerk, but he’s a good guy.”

 

“I work with women like that, so it’s no big deal really. Alright, let’s go get coffee and some yummy pastries.”

 

Without even thinking about it, I slid my hand into his, our fingers twining together like it was totally natural. Which, I guess it was since, y’know, the whole soulmate thing. Wait until I told the girls tomorrow, they were going to flip out. And I was definitely flipping out. I wasn’t expecting to find my soulmate, especially not today and double especially him being Captain freaking America. Talk about wild.

 

“So, I’ve talked all about me, I’d like to hear more about you now.”

 

Steve and I were finally seated in the coffee house, settled in a nice quiet corner with some pastries and our drinks, just talking over life and everything. He told me all about himself on the way over and I loved hearing about him; he was so interesting and his story was so sad to hear.

 

“Well, let’s see… I graduated school early and as valedictorian of my class. I’ve always loved kids, so I wanted to be a teacher. I’m actually heavily tattooed and I’ve got piercings, but to set a good example for my kids, I keep most of them covered and I leave spacers in since that’s part of our work policy. I’m a huge music fan and even have my own band that I do stuff with on weekends. Eventually, maybe, I’d love to go out on tour if we ever make it big. I play piano and sing, I was actually trained in both of those things as well as guitar and violin when I was little but I really took to singing and piano. I’ve been on my own since I was seventeen since my parents died in a car wreck thanks to a drunk driver. I miss ‘em every day, but they’re in a better place I suppose. There’s not really much else to tell really…” I rambled on, blushing a little when I saw him watching me intently, a slight smile on his face as he leaned forward, just listening.

 

“I’m… really glad we found each other.” I continued shyly, tucking my hair behind my ears again. Steve reached out, taking my hand in his, squeezing gently and ran his thumb over mine, stroking my skin gently.

 

“I’m glad too. It’s weird being in another time period and it was… well, lonely.”

 

“Well, you won’t have to feel so lonely anymore, Steve.”

 

We leaned in awkwardly and hesitantly, noses bumping slightly as we tilted our heads, laughing softly as we pressed our lips together in a tender, shy kiss that filled me with warmth and happiness.


End file.
